It was just Jadon Sancho's luck in the summer to finally become Manchester United's marquee signing... only for his long-awaited arrival to be immediately overshadowed.
The Red Devils had been chasing the frighteningly talented winger for many seasons and finally prised Borussia Dortmund's hand with a £73million deal plus add-ons.
Such was the excitement among the fan base that United had finally got their man, supporters began to speak frantically about the possibility of the England starlet being handed the revered No 7 shirt from Edinson Cavani, and in doing so follow in the footsteps of giants before him - including Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Jadon Sancho is not experiencing the start to Manchester United life which he hoped for
Sancho's arrival was immediately overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo's Old Trafford return
And then, well... Ronaldo himself only went and returned to Old Trafford to rule over his former kingdom once more. From the outside looking in, it appears Sancho has been discarded like the toy that is no longer the favourite.
Ronaldo is back and, to be fair to the Portuguese superstar, is more than delivering the goods. His five goals in five matches is mouth-watering and it's clear to see why he still remains the main draw, even at the age of 36.
Yet this is causing a rather bothersome issue for Sancho and the nature in which he is being drawn into the United set-up.
Sancho was taken off in the midweek win over Villarreal even though United needed a goal
Opportunities are limited and everything is geared around helping Ronaldo produce the goods.
At Dortmund, Sancho was the spellbinding main attraction and formed a lethal partnership with Erling Haaland. Now it is a very different story.
Sportsmail takes a look at the unfolding situation to observe just how Sancho can get things back on his own terms...
Opportunity (doesn't) knockAsk any United fan for their prediction after Sancho initially signed during the summer and they would tell you the London-born star would have been the focal point of the attack.
Sancho was brought in to play in and around close friend Marcus Rashford, while also support the interchanging Mason Greenwood and veteran ace Edinson Cavani.
Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes were poised to pull the strings behind him and help orchestrate the magic but now, incredibly, Sancho is finding himself as just another one of several similar pieces.
The Ronaldo show only caters for side-cart assistants, who are willing to perform different shifts with the same job description; give him the ball as soon as possible and play it into the danger spaces for him to attack.
It's a tidy job to have of course, given that Ronaldo is football royalty, but certainly not what Sancho signed up for.
So far this season he has eight appearances under his belt in all competitions, with zero goals and zero assists.
Sancho has eight United appearances in all competitions, with zero goals and zero assists
In the Premier League, from five outings, Sancho has been given just 200 minutes of game time on the field by Solskjaer.
It's hardly confidence inspiring, particularly when emphasised that Sancho hasn't actually played Premier League football before.
The precociously talented youngster was plucked away from City before he came anywhere near the senior side, and was given the platform to perform in the German top flight and ultimately on the Champions League stage.
Sancho proved more than capable at the highest level, and has scored sublime strikes at postcard grounds including the Nou Camp. Now, though, he must feel like his development is stalling somewhat.
Easing into Premier League life gradually is of course useful, but when minutes are only sparingly handed out with the singular task of providing for the all-demanding Ronaldo, it's difficult to see where things will actually click for
